Pipers Piping and Korea Tour Day 11

My son isn't really aware that Christmas presents exist before Christmas Day. He's never asked about them and he never looks for them. It was a thing of beauty... until today. I had big plans to retrieve some toys from my vehicle while he was distracted in his bedroom, playing with his sister. I even tried to time the opening of the door with their happy giggles, but he was too clever for me. Just as I had precariously filled my arms with toys ready to be taken to my super-top-secret hiding place in the shed, I caught sight of his eyes peering out the front door. So I tossed everything back into my vehicle and announced that I had just finished loading it with donations for the orphanage. And then he brought me one of his cars to add to the pile. So....basically he's a saint, and I'm a liar. Welcome to the Christmas Season.

1. Outline the cookie using a #2 tip and thick black icing. Start with the front arm (I highlighted it in yellow. You know, in case the word "front" was confusing.) Everything else makes sense once you have that in place. After the arm, I did the shirt and the pants, then the hair, the face, and then the remaining detail lines. If you can... try not to make his leg wonky like I did.
2. Fill in half of the spaces and then take a break to make some popcorn. (Just me? Go ahead and skip to step 3.)
3. Fill in the other areas and let dry overnight.
4. Add tiny little black dots for the eyes and some holes on the pipe. Give him some rosy little cheeks and you are DONE.

KOREA TOUR DAY 11

If you came to visit me in South Korea, I would take you on a walk in Waegwan. I lived there for 2 years.

And I think I walked down every street in the entire town.

The neighborhood streets aren't so big in Korea. If you live in a house in a neighborhood, you have to park your car outside the neighborhood and walk to your house.Not everyone owns cars. Especially in towns this small.

This house was on the edge, so it was much easier to get a picture. This is a fairly standard house....except that you can't see the giant kimchi pots. They are probably around the left side. At night, the people in the home will sit outside on their platform and the neighbors will come join them. They will sit out there watching people go by well into the night. Because day time is for working. And night time is for people.

I kind of just wanted to rub it in that I saw this nearly every day of my life. This rice paddy is just a few hundred meters from my apartment building.

This is the town of Waegwan. Population 29,000. And there are at least 10 apartment complexes like the one in the middle of this picture.

Welcome to main street. They are not afraid of color here. Or parking on the sidewalk. Or driving on the sidewalk for that matter.

And this is the market. A tiny version of this came to my apartment complex every Thursday. I could walk out my door and buy eggs and vegetables and snacks and sometimes clothes for my children or a winter coat.... I miss that.

The vendors on the main road of the market sell food. The side streets have everything else.

Nearly every walk in Waegwan ended with this tunnel. My apartment is on the other side. The train track is on top. Giant spiders live inside it. And sometimes.... cars drive through it. They have really small cars in Korea. And they drive them wherever they will fit.

15 comments:

I absolutely love Asian markets! Here in Thailand they sell absolutely everything too. I love the availability of fresh fruit. Often it's already cut/sliced with a skewer on the side. So easy to get your daily 5 this way, especially at 30 cents a serving ;)

I woke up one morning in Italy to find a similar market had invaded in the wee hours and the locals wait to shop it every week. What an amazing concept, and a great way to form a sense of community. I love those small angular streets....Oh yea, you're cookies are just one glorious verse of the song following each other! Fantastic!

Uh-oh we know who's on the naughty list.... Thanks for the tour today. Love the green of the rice paddy. Only one more to go. Looking forward to it. Making the choc. dough this morning. Will be ready to go when you finish this set of tutorials. Take care--Katy

I read the top paragraph to myself, then I read it outloud to my spouse and now that I've finished the rest of the post I'm going to go back and read it again. Funniest and sweetest way to begin the morning!

Oh dear. I've been caught before and I had no explanation. I had to make up some silly story that we get the gifts and send them off to santa with their letters. They believed me! *wipes sweat from brow!*

The piper cookies are fantastic. I love the black outlining and the colours are fantastic. As is the tour photos. Such a different culture, I tend to forget that people drive like loonies in different countries (Italy and France is terrible!)

I'm really enjoying your tour of Korea!!! I got started following your blog through a card-making blog, and I'm in NOOOOO way a baker, but I love your blog! Besides drooling over your beautiful cookies, I'm really loving seeing your pictures and reading your descriptions of your life in Korea! It all sounds so interesting! Makes me want to visit!

Hello,I'm a new follower and you may have answered this before. I'm curious to know what took you to South Korea. I'm assuming that you are not Korean (gee, do you think the pictures told me that?)Anyway, not sure you want to share this information but I'd love to know. Thanks.

I just love reading about your life in South Korea. I always hate when the tour comes to an end. Really, there are 25 days of Christmas in my book, so could we continue on the tour all month? I know you'll have more cookies to knock our socks off - like these!

I feel like I know you so well, and you have no idea how I am. Your posts about your life in South Korea are so wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing. It is funny because I am English living in Florida and find it very hard to adjust even though I have been here for 14 years. I can not imagine who difficult it would be to adjust to South Korea, but you look like you are really enjoying it there. May I ask what took you to South Korea?Thanks for the lovely cookie decorating tips. You really do have a great talent :)Hannah

I don't always get the opportunity to catch up on my favorite bloggers, but I read the Tour # 11 and could not stop until I had brought myself to the first. You cracked me up and yet, somehow I feel as though I went to a class on South Korean culture. Thanks! Your cookies are the reason I connected to your blog many moons ago, but this was certainly a great diversion.

Your son is a sweetheart and you are not a real liar...just for the purposes of preserving the magic of his childhood. Love the way you tell a story though :)I'm so struck by the contrast between the old and the new in the same locals in Korea. It's fascinating. What a gift you have been given to have your family live there. I know how hard it is to live away from your friends and family back in the States but this experience is priceless for you and your children. I know our tour is almost over and I can't thank you enough for sharing as you have.

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